[Fish4brains]

Has anyone used marimo ball algae (Cladophora) in their tanks as a planbt? I thought it looked cool and i wouldnt need to worry about it much.

 

[zenman]

Yes I have at least one in every tank. I have placed one on a rock and do not turn it so that it will grow a green velvet layer over the surface of the rock. I will post photos when it is complete. Thank you Zenman

 

[Fish4brains]

Thanks for the quick reply- so if you do not turn it, it chnages to grow like aregular moss and it doesnt ball up?

 

[zenman]

Correctomendae if you leave the Ball alone it will flatten out like a pancake and blanket what ever it lays upon. Nice looking actually. Later Zen

 

[Fish4brains]

cool- what lighting does it need?

 

[Robert Hudson]

Where did you hear that from? I have been growing them and selling them for two years and I have never had one flatten out, and I never "turn" them. Sounds like a myth to me, or you don't have the real thing!

 

[zenman]

Sorry son it doesnt matter if you have a Phd or been selling Chladophora Aegagroplia (Marimo Balls) for 20 years you can argue with the basic laws of physics. These balls grow in the lakes of Japan as the currents & tides move these back in forth causing them to roll in a ball, the more movement in your tank the tighter and rounder they will grow, the less movement the flater they will become. Perhaps Robert you grow your Marimo Balls in a setting which creates just enough movement to keep them round. Try placeing some balls in a motionless tank for a week and you will begin to notice a flating affect if you dont believe me then a picture say's a thousand words. Thank you Zenman

 

[Fish4brains]

lighting ?

 

[zenman]

I grow mine in Low to Medium light. I have found these to be one of the easiest to maintain, very low maintance required, I to sell these and a very popular item at that. Can be viewed at www.aquabid.com under Zenman will give discounts to members of this forum. Thank you David Morehead

 

[Piscesgirl]

I did not roll one of my moss balls and it flattened, but it actually started to split in half (I finished the separation by pulling it apart today), so I have two flattened pieces. I've also found it has a habit of sending out baby mosses which is somewhat annoying (although easy enough to remove).

 

[Robert Hudson]

Well I can show you pictures of mine that are a year old, never turned, never moved, and completly round. They do grow naturally into a ball or oval, without rolling across the substrate. If you ever have any spores grow in your gravel, you will see they start as green little tufts and then form into a ball, or perhaps it is more of a blob that I presumed would form a ball! They are however under a current, so I guess that may be why mine remain round or oval. I have occasionaly had one split. I have also had two fuse together, and I have some piled on top of each other, and they have still stayed round.

I grow mine in unheated, room temp water, which in the winter time is around 65F. They come from cold water in Japan, northern Europe, and Iceland. My lighting is about 2 watts per gallon with no C02 injected into the water. I doubt most people I sell them to keep them in as cool a water as I do. I have sold somewhere around 300 of them and nobody has reported any problem growing this plant, temp, lighting, or any other factor. Florida Aquatic sells them to stores thru their distributors as "Moss Ball" and tells the stores they remove phosphate and nitrogen from the water, which is very unlikely considering how slow a grower they are. Florida Aquatic imports them from Oriental Aquarium in Singapore.